Ro’s brain had been moving at turtle speed all day. She attributed it to the pounding in her temples that made it nearly impossible to concentrate, even on something as simple as coloring with Grace. And then Graham launched into a tirade that was beyond Ro’s current capacity for comprehension. When he’d pushed her against the wall, he hadn’t gripped her arms tightly, despite the anger that had been emanating from him. She'd started to feel woozy, her knees had gone weak, and she hadn't been able to stop her ungraceful slide down the wall. Lia had looked like a virago, bent on protecting her, even though Ro didn’t need protection from Graham. Even in his pissed off state, Ro had no fear that he’d hurt her. And then it had all unraveled, each motion seemingly exaggerated as Ro took them in: Graham’s lunge, the flash of fear in Lia’s eyes, Graham’s swipe to the barrel of the gun, the muscles in Lia’s hand flexing, and then the discharge of the pistol. Ro screamed when Graham fell to his knees.
“Graham!”
“Oh God. Oh God. Oh God,” Lia chanted, awkwardly crawling backward away from Graham and the gun.
Ro snapped out of her haze long enough to croak, “Get Beau. Go.”
Lia disappeared into the kitchen, and Ro heard the back door slam shut behind her. Graham was coming toward her. The red trail in his wake reminded her of watching her dad almost bleed out days before.
“Are you okay?” he asked, kneeling beside her.
“Me? Are you serious?” Ro pressed her hand over his, trying to help stop the bleeding. Graham flinched. “I’m sorry.” She started to pull her hand away, but Graham shifted, covering her hand with his big, bloody one.
“It’s okay. As long as you’re okay. We’re good.” Ro nodded, but his next words were drowned out as the front door to the mess hall crashed open, and Zach and Beau flew into the room. Beau ripped his kit open, and carefully removed Ro and Graham’s layered hands from the wound. He shredded Graham’s shirt and tossed it aside. A deep, bleeding furrow, edged with torn flesh, was exposed.
“Oh my God,” Ro breathed, falling back against the wall. Her vision swam, and her eyelids fluttered.
“Ro—. Fuck. Someone grab her …”
The rest of the words were lost as the blackness descended.
Ro woke disoriented. Her head throbbed, and her entire body ached. She surveyed her surroundings in the dim glow of the light and deduced she was flat on her back on a cot in the clinic. A noise to her right had her cautiously turning her head toward the sound. Zach was passed out on the cot next to her. What the hell is going on? Why am I so damn tired? Moving her head took so much energy. Ro groaned, and Zach jolted up, as if he’d been sleeping with one eye open. He rolled out of his cot and was at her side.
“Hey, baby. You joining the land of the living again?”
Ro started to respond, but her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. “Water?”
“Just a second.” Zach stood and crossed to the sink, filling a small paper cup and returning to her side. Ro reached for the cup and realized she had an IV attached to the top of her hand.
“What happened?”
Zach sat on the edge of her cot and helped her sit up. She accepted the cup and sipped, as Zach pointed to her bandaged wrists. “Infection—from one of your wrists. It was bad, babe. Beau’s pretty sure it was antibiotic resistant. He had to get creative. We weren’t sure his treatment would work. You’re lucky.”
“I don’t understand ...” When she’d asked what happened, she’d meant what had happened to Graham.
“I’m not going to pretend to have the answers to that. You’d have to ask Beau. I’m just fucking happy you’re finally awake. You scared ten years off my life.”
“But—” He pressed a finger to her lips.
“Important things first: how do you feel?”
“Tired. Achy. Like I got hit by a bus.”
“I should get Beau.” He started to rise.
“No, wait.” She was almost afraid to ask. “Is Graham okay?”
Zach gave her a small smile. “Yeah, babe. He’s going to be okay.”
“Going to be?” Ro frowned. That didn’t sound good at all.
“He’s moving a little slow, but he’s damn lucky that bullet just grazed him. Another inch, and he’d have been missing a chunk of his side.”
Ro shivered at the thought, and then wondered why he wasn’t in the clinic with her. Probably would’ve needed to sedate him to get him within ten feet of me. She mentally cringed when she remembered the barely-leashed rage in his grip when he’d pushed her up against the wall. She was still confused about what had set him off. All she knew for sure was that it had something to do with the man sitting next to her.
“What happened? He avoided me for days, and then he was furious and spoiling for a fight. I just … don’t get it.”
“That’s my fault. Not yours.”
Maybe her head was still too fuzzy to follow logical reasoning, but Ro wasn’t getting it. “I’m missing something here.”
Zach started to respond, but the door to the clinic creaked open, and her dad stuck his head inside. “She awake yet?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll give you two some privacy. And, I’m already late for fire watch.” Zach kissed her forehead. “We still have a lot to talk about. Soon. I’ll let Beau know you’re up so he can fill you in.”
Ro didn’t have a chance to answer before he stood and headed for the door. He exchanged nods with her dad and exited.
“Well, girl, you scared the life out of me.”
“Now you know how I felt.”
“How about we don’t do that again.”
“That’s a deal.”
“How’re you feeling?”
“Not too bad.”
“Truth, Ro.”
“A little bit like I wandered into oncoming traffic. But it’s nothing I can’t handle. I’m ready to go whenever you are.”
“I have a feeling that boy of yours isn’t going to want to leave until you’re back to full steam.”
Ro started to reply, but stopped when she replayed his words in her head. “You mean let me leave.”
Her dad tilted his head and smiled slyly. “He didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?” Ro asked, again doubting her capacity to follow a rational conversation.
Her dad jerked his head toward the door. “That man of yours told me, bold as brass balls on a bull, that you weren’t leaving this place without him, and if I didn’t like it, that was too damn bad.”
Ro’s jaw slackened. “What?”
“Good thing the bunker is big enough to fit at least a dozen comfortably, because our party just grew by one.”
Ro’s thoughts were whirling, rerunning the conversation she’d just had with Zach, and then Graham’s tirade in the mess hall. “You forced my best friend to choose, and let me tell you, he didn’t fucking choose me.” It was all starting to come together. Holy shit. Zach was going to leave the ranch—and everyone on it—to be with her.
Her heart clenched when she remembered what else Graham had said. “Tell me what you said to him, and why the hell didn’t you say it to me? Am I not good enough for you either?” Graham thought she’d talked Zach into leaving. Thought somehow she’d made a choice and it wasn’t him. Just like his mother. Ro started to rub her eyes, but paused when the IV tugged at her hand. What to do now? Could she let Zach follow through? It tore at her to think that she’d come between the two men when the bond of their friendship had seemed wholly unbreakable. They were a team. A unit. I suppose this is why normal people don’t attempt permanent ménages, Ro thought absently. Someone probably always ends up being the odd man, or woman, out.
“Ro? Are you okay?”
Ro slumped against the pillow. “I’m fine. Just tired, I guess,” she said, not wanting to share her realization. “Are you sure you’re okay with that? With him coming, I mean?”
“I don’t think I have a choice; that man loves you, and it’s not my place to stand in the way of that.”
Ro tried to smile, but her happiness at Zach’s decision was tainted by everything he would be giving up. She untangled the IV before pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead. Why did everything have to be so goddamn complicated?
“You should get some rest, sweetheart. I want to make sure you’re good and healthy before we head out. You still look much too pale for my liking. We’ll get Doc Beau in here to check you out, and when he gives us the all clear, I’d like to get on the road. No real hurry, but the sooner the better.”
Ro’s smile felt forced, but she just nodded and said, “Sounds good.”
He kissed her forehead. “I love you, Ro.”
Tears burned her eyes as she watched him leave. To the empty room she said, “What the hell am I going to do now?”